


Hope

by conceptofzero



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-01-11
Packaged: 2018-01-08 08:27:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1130460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptofzero/pseuds/conceptofzero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope has always been her most powerful motivator. When you rule over a doomed people, fighting a war you have been told again and again that you will lose, all you have left is hope. And so, the White Queen has always looked for that attribute in those she kept her closest council with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hope

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sugarplumfairy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarplumfairy/gifts).



Hope has always been her most powerful motivator. When you rule over a doomed people, fighting a war you have been told again and again that you will lose, all you have left is hope. And so, the White Queen has always looked for that attribute in those she kept her closest council with. 

She had seen hope in the Parcel Mistress’ eyes, even though her words had spelled an unintentional doom for their kingdom. Hope had been there when she took the White Queen’s ring without a complaint, without waivering once in the face of the terrible task Derse’s Archagent had laid on her shoulders. The White Queen was through the portal by the time Prospit fell, but she never doubted PM would see her duty through to the bitter end. 

When they meet again, they both wear different names. It has been a few years since Prospit fell for the White Queen and she carries that sorrow silently in her heart. The tattered and faded banner PM wears makes it clear that it has been much longer for her - years of living with the knowledge that she felled her kingdom and helped a monster seize an even more monstrous power. And yet, the hope is still there in her eyes, burning brighter than before. 

The White Queen is no more. The Windswept Questant is done with ruling. She held her head high and wore the crown as best she could, but it holds no appeal for her any longer. Her Prospit fell and she abandoned it, knowing there was nothing she could do to stop the red miles from toppling the towers and tearing the moon from the sky. The hope in her heart was extinguished then. 

And yet, when she looks at PM, she feels those embers stir, like hot coals lie beneath a bed of ash. The Peregrine Mendicant is gasoline. She is a catalyst waiting to spark a chemical reaction. You can see her influence in the Dersites who have put aside old quarrels to follow her. You can see her passion in the mail boxes she has with her, in her contribution to the can town the Dersites have built. Hope means something, and when WQ looks at PM, she feels like hope is still alive and just fervently waiting for the moment when it can spread its wings again. 

The crown meant for WQ is easily given to PM, and when she rejects it, WQ is there to place it back on her head. She takes her place as advisor, and it’s really more of a favour for WQ than it is for PM. If she keeps PM close, she knows she’ll feel the hope she lost the day Prospit fell. They’ll all feel it, her and her husband, the Dersites, and all others that cross their path. 

Jack will fall. The Windswept Questant knows this the way she knew Prospit would fall, from cloud visions she’s seen in the sky. There will be a day when the ring no longer protects him. He’s a monster, but like all monsters, he’s weak without his powers. When the time comes, when his malice and avarice are pitted against the hope and determination in the Prospitian Monarch, she knows that Jack Noir will fall harder than Prospit ever did. 

The clouds told WQ that her battle was futile, that Prospit would lose and Derse would win. They gave WQ plenty of answers, but they never gave her much hope. Things are going to be different though. New Queen, new people, a new undecided war. For once, knowledge can’t get in their ways and force them down a tragic path. Hope will guide them to victory - that’s something WQ is absolutely sure of.


End file.
